The Denver Nuggets suffered their franchise-record 16th straight
loss, 98-79 to the Miami Heat, who received a season-high 25
points and 12 rebounds from Alonzo Mourning.

The Nuggets, who have not won since December 7th against the Los
Angeles Clippers, are one loss short of tying the NBA season
high of 17 consecutive defeats by the Toronto Raptors from
November 6th-December 9th.

Denver also lost its sixth straight game at McNichols Arena,
matching the longest home skid in franchise history, set
previously during the 1996-97 and 1991-92 seasons.

P.J. Brown added 19 points, Voshon Lenard 14 and Tim Hardaway
nine assists for Miami, which won for the seventh time in its
last 11 road games while posting its fifth straight win over
Denver. On November 15th, the Heat edged the Nuggets in Miami,
96-93, when Hardaway sank a three-pointer with 1.4 seconds left.

"I thought we did what we had to do. We played a pretty solid
game in the second half to get the win," said Miami coach Pat
Riley. "We kept getting good post position for Zo. In the
second quarter we got a little careless and let them back in the
game. Our defense has been different since Zo came back. We're
getting solid play there."

The Heat, led by Lenard's 3-for-5 effort, connected on 7-of-13
three-point attempts. Miami shot 52 percent (36-for-69) from
the field and held Denver to 34 percent (28-for-83) shooting.

After Dean Garrett's 17-foot jumper gave Denver an 8-7 lead at
the 8:21 mark of the first quarter, the Heat grabbed the lead
for good off a short jumper by Jamal Mashburn 15 seconds later.

LaPhonso Ellis scored 19 points to lead Denver, which is 2-31,
the worst record in the NBA.

"Miami makes it very tough to run your sets. They front the
post on everybody and contest every shot. I would've liked to
see more body movement and more screens," said Denver coach Bill
Hanzlik. "LaPhonso is playing very well right now. Not just
because he's shooting the ball, but he's calling out the screens
and showing good leadership. You can see what happens when you
get good, consistent execution like Miami does."

Mashburn's basket started off an 11-0 spurt for Miami, with
Mourning contributing six points, and was capped off by a
16-footer by Brown at the 5:02 mark, giving the Heat an 18-8
lead. A driving layup by Hardaway with just 1.6 seconds
remaining in the first quarter increased Miami's lead to 31-16.

Denver reduced the deficit to five points, 38-33, with 3:20 to
go in the first half when Tony Battie sank a pair of free
throws, but the Nuggets would get no closer the rest of the
game.

Miami built its lead up to as much as 23 points in the second
half. That was at 98-75, inside the final minute, after Lenard
hit a single free throw.

"It's easy to underestimate a team because of their record, but
you've got to respect everyone you play in this league. We got
a little complacent at times," said Mourning. "The shots that
we took are the shots that we practice. We want to have more
consistency. When we reach that level, we will show signs of
being a championship team."